


A Better Place

by applesmokedgouda



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Angst, F/M, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-20
Updated: 2014-01-21
Packaged: 2018-01-09 09:43:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1144490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/applesmokedgouda/pseuds/applesmokedgouda
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctor lands in a seemingly random time, and finds a girl about to commit suicide. He decides to show her that she matters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

She wasn’t crying. She was upset, sure; but she had cried enough in her seventeen (‘But almost eighteen! Growing up so fast! Birthday in two days; my, my.’ as her mother would put it) years. It was time. It would all be over soon, and she’d be in a better place.

 

She stepped up, and took a baby step forward.

 

Another.

 

Again, a miniscule step.

 

And another.

 

One more, and she would be over the edge, dead before she hit the ground. Hopefully. She took a deep breath, and began to count.

 

One.

 

Two.

 

Thr—

 

She was interrupted by a loud… humming sort of noise. She pushed her raven black hair behind her left ear and looked over her shoulder, toward the rooftop door, where she came from. There was nothing there in that ten feet, nothing but concrete and air, but then, suddenly… There was! A blue box suddenly materialized, and a man popped out. He looked to be about twenty-five, maybe thirty, dressed somewhat oddly, in a blue suit, brown coat, and red high-topped shoes.

 

“Hello!” He chirped. “I can see you’re very upset. Why don’t you come down and we can talk for a bit?” He smiled, true and genuine. “What’s your name, doll?”

 

“Maley,” she replied cautiously. “What’s yours?”

 

“Sorry lovely. Can’t tell you that ‘till you step down.” He held out his hand and gripped hers, tight and protective. As she obliged to his request, the man mused to himself. “Maley. MAY-lee. may-LEE. I like it.”

 

“Thanks,” the seventeen year old said, a bit confused. “So what’s yours?”

 

“Ah!” The man exclaimed, “A promise _is_ a promise, in’it?” He smiled again, and melted Maley’s heart. “I’m John Smith.”

 

Maley cocked her head to the side, and smirked. “John Smith,” she did her best imitation of his accent. “You expect me to believe that?”

 

“What?” he smiled, “People have that sort of name.”

 

“Yeah,” she replied, “ _Fake_ people.” She looked into his deep brown eyes and saw light, more happiness than she had seen in anyone before, but she also saw dark; this man had been through more pain than she could imagine. Much more than she.

 

The man flashed her another award-winning smile. “Alright then, love. Call me Doctor.”

 

“Oh no.” She protested. “ _Another_ doctor-nurse fetish? Do you men have _any_ idea how popular that one is? I’m sick of it! We’re not children anymore! We can’t go around playing ‘Doctor.’ You’re not going to examine _me_ , that’s for damn sure.”

 

The Doctor rolled his eyes, but he smiled nonetheless. He liked the Maley. She was… Spunky. Sassy. Just a bit too much. He liked her. He liked her quite a bit. “So, you going to tell me why you were on the edge?”

 

Maley shut down. Her smile faded, and the Doctor saw a hint of sadness before her shields rose. Now, she was emotionless, unwavering, unmoving. “It’s a… It’s a long story, Doc.”

 

“Well, I’ve got time.”

 

“I don’t know how to say it all. I don’t know where to begin.”

 

“I could help. It’s a strange feeling for most people, but it does help articulate what needs to be said. Do you wanna try it?” He asked.

 

“Sure, why not?” Maley sighed. What more did she have to lose?

 

“Alright.” The Doctor put his hands on the side of Maley’s head and closed his eyes.

 

“… Dude.”

 

“Mmm?”

 

“What are you doing?”

 

“Just close your eyes. If there’s anything you don’t want me to see, just imagine a door, and then shut it. I won’t look.”

 

Maley sighed. “Alright, whatever, man.” Closing her eyes, she sighed and relaxed into the Doctor’s touch.

 

She felt his presence in her mind; rifling through her memories like files in a cabinet. The doctor let out a low whistle. “Better place, eh? Tell me Maley, how do you know where you’re going will be better?”

 

“Are you implying that I’m going to Hell, Doctor?” She asked him as he took his palms off of the sides of her face.

 

“No, not at all. What I mean is; how do you know death is better than life?”

 

“Well, I just figure that anywhere’s better than here.” She replied solemnly.

 

“I can show you a good time!” he exclaimed, wanting to give this girl some hope, some proof that not everything was horrible.

 

She chortled. “Yeah, okay. I’m _sure_ you could. Everyone’s trying to get some. I mean, I know I’m self-destructive, but Jesus, is low self-esteem _that_ much of a turn-on?”

 

“No no! I’m not trying to seduce you! I’d never do that!”

 

“Oi!”

 

“No, what I mean is--”

 

“Doctor, I get it. You don’t have to explain anything. I get it.”

 

“No Maley. I don’t think you do.” The strange man’s voice grew dark and ominous. “You, out of all the people on this Earth, out of all the creatures in this solar system, this galaxy, this _universe_ , you are the only one that is Maley Hobbs, the Dancing Queen, young and sweet, only seventeen.”

 

“How did you—”

 

“I’m not finished yet!” The Doctor practically roared. “You are important! And I don’t know why so many people can’t see that! I don’t know why _you_ can’t see that!”

 

She didn’t want to cry in front of this man and embarrass herself further, but he had struck a nerve, and the tears were spilling out of her before she could stop them.

 

“Oh, no.” Both his voice and his eyes softened when he saw what he had done. He had made this little girl, this wonderful, sweet little human cry. She didn’t deserve to cry.

 

“I don’t know why. My mum always says things like that. She’s a good woman, my mum. She tried so hard with me. You’re right, Doctor. But I think the reason nobody sees that is because there’s nothing there.” Maley wept as she said this, silent sobs wracking her body.

 

“So you feel small, insignificant? Ah, but you’re a giant. You have to be — to go through what you’ve gone through. To feel what you’ve felt.” The Doctor moved closer to the crying girl. “May I?” He asked hesitantly, opening his arms for a hug.

 

Maley threw herself into his embrace. He held her, tightly, like she was the only one who mattered, the only one he cared about in the whole world. When her tears subsided, he decided to speak again.

 

“I meant what I said, you know. About showing you a good time. Taking you to a better place. You want to go somewhere? We’ll go somewhere. Anywhere you like. Any _time_ you like.”

 

Maley looked up, into his soft, comforting brown eyes, and she saw her own glassy blue ones, red from crying, peer back at her in them. “I dunno. I guess I’ve always wanted to see the Eiffel Tower.”

 

“Perfect!” The Doctor exclaimed. “France it is!” He practically skipped over to the big box Maley had nearly forgotten about. He jumped in, and the door swung shut behind him. Poking his head out, he asked “You coming?”

 

“What, are we going to _call_ France?”

 

“Get in, Maley.”

 

“Alright.” She sighed, walking in, being very careful not to squish the Doctor when she closed the doors. She soon found out that her cautiousness was for naught.

 

“Welcome to the TARDIS, Maley. We hope you enjoy your stay."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maley and the Doctor arrive in France, and they each learn more about each other.

“Wow.” Was all Maley could get out. “I mean, really, just… _wow._ ”

 

“Yeah, that’s my TARDIS! She’s great, just great.” The doctor smiled, gently caressing a bit of machinery in the center of the room.

 

“TARDIS?” Maley inquired as to the device’s name.

 

“Stands for Time And Relative Dimension In Space. But that’s sort of a mouthful, don’t you think?”

 

“Time And Relative Dimension In Space, huh? So is this what you do, then? You just show up in random places and ask people to come with you in this TARDIS box?”

 

The Doctor shrugged and said, “Yeah, that’s about the gist of it.”

 

“You have many basket-cases on board then, or is it just me?”

 

Maley’s self-deprecating humor was endearing, but it still left the Doctor a bit bereaved. “Nah.” He smiled. “Just the two of us. So, you ready to go, then?”

 

“To France!” Maley cheered.

 

“To France!” The Doctor echoed. He flipped some switches, pulled some levers, and pressed some buttons, and then the humming noise that had kept her from jumping made its way again to Maley’s ears. “Hold on!” The Doctor yelled.

 

Maley was thrown about, but she, like all other native Southern Californians, had been taught to surf at a young age (before she learned to hate it), and managed to keep her balance quite well. “Doctor?” she asked.

 

“Yes, what is it?”

 

“What are those round things on the wall?” She asked.

 

“Ah, the round things.” The Doctor mused. “I love the round things!”

 

“But what do they _do_?”

 

“No idea. Hey, we’re here!” He pulled one more lever, and the Doctor’s machine grinded to a halt. Taking Maley’s hand, he led her to the doors. Before opening them, he looked the girl up and down. “Eh. That’ll do. A bit modern, but you should be fine with that dress.”

 

“Modern? This dress is like three years old!” Maley protested.

 

“Not where we are.” The Doctor opened the TARDIS doors, and took a deep breath. “Paris, France; 31 March, 1889.”

 

“Hold on. 1889? _March_?”

 

“What part of ‘ _Time_ And Relative Dimension In Space’ do you not understand?”

 

“Oh. Wow. But why this year?” Maley asked. “Why now?”

 

“Because!” The Doctor exclaimed, “Today’s the day it was finally opened to the public! The very first day people were allowed to go up into it; to see this landmark up close!”

 

“What are we waiting for, then?” She asked, leading him out of the TARDIS and into the world. “Let’s go and see it!” She set off in one direction, looked around, then went in a different one. “Doctor.” Maley whispered. “Which way is the tower?”

 

“Well, it’s just a guess,” he began, “But I’m going to say it’s somewhere in that general direction.” He motioned wildly to his left.

 

“Really? What makes you say that?”

 

“Well, the big honking tower may have given me a hint.” He smirked, angling Maley’s head upward, towards the Tower. “You’ve got to look up, or important things will pass you by.”

 

“Alright, enough with the life lessons. Let’s see if my two years of French did enough to get my by.” She began walking, the Doctor’s hand still entwined with hers. If either of them noticed, they didn’t say anything.

 

“… So I told Marguerite that Cristophe is just no good for her.”

 

“Tut, tut.”

 

Maley caught this snippet of conversation from two women passing.

 

“Doctor? Why are those ladies speaking English?”

 

“They’re not. You just _hear_ English. Little gift from the TARDIS. Translates everything for you. Look.” He steered Maley towards a nearby restaurant. “Everything written there is in French.”

 

“But I read it in English.”

 

“Yup.”

 

“That’s weird.”

 

“Good weird, or bad weird?” The Doctor asked.

 

“Definitely good.” Maley replied. “Now I don’t have to embarrass myself completely by sounding like a French two year old.”

 

“So, to the tower!”

 

“Yes, but Doctor…” Maley began, “How are we going to get in? I don’t have any French money.

 

“Neither do I. Now we’re having fun!” After laughing for a time, the pair walked the rest of the way to the tower in silence, admiring the scenery and culture.

 

“Come on, Maley, right to the front.” The Doctor had to practically drag her. “Look like you know what you’re doing,” he whispered, “I can get us in.”

 

“You’re just making this up as you go, aren’t you?”

 

“Yep!” He smiled as they reached the front of the queue.

 

“Can I help you, Monsieur? Mademoiselle.” The man bowed slightly as he addressed Maley.

 

“Yes, see we’re from the… committee. We’re just here to make sure the building is structurally sound while guests are inside.” The Doctor pulled out a leather-bound badge from his suit pocket and showed it to the man taking tickets. “You can start letting people in, and after a few hours or so, we’ll let you know how things are holding up.”

 

“Yes, of course, Monsieur. This way.” The man motioned behind him, and the Doctor pushed Maley ahead of him, steering her in the right direction with a hand on her lower back.

 

When they were out of earshot, Maley asked the Doctor “What did your badge say?”

 

“Oh, it’s not a badge. Psychic paper. Says whatever I want it to say.” He pulled out the small, leather-bound book as they began to climb the stairs, and handed it to Maley.

 

“Doctor?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“There’s just a joke written here. ‘Why was Oedipus against profanity? Because he kisses his mother with that mouth.’ That’s… actually pretty good.”

 

“Yeah, like I said; 'Says whatever I want it to say.' Those Greeks wrote some interesting plays.” The Doctor laughed.

 

“You been there before? Ancient Greece?”

 

“Yeah, once or twice. Met a few Slitheen there once. Not too friendly. Sent them back to Raxacoricofallapatorius.”

 

“Raxacoricofallapatorius?” Maley asked.

 

“Yeah; it’s pronounced Raxa-corico—hold on. You got it right on the first go. Nobody’s done that.” The Doctor looked and sounded incredulous.

 

“Yeah. I’m a fast learner. So where is this Raxacoricofallapatorius place, anyway?”

 

“But you pronounced it-correctly, might I add-after only hearing it once!” The Doctor had stopped his trek up the many stairs to gape at Maley.

 

“Yeah. What’s the problem?”

 

“You are so bright, Maley. Not just bright; no. You’re more than that. Clever. Oh, so clever.”

 

Maley blushed and quickly changed the subject. “Doctor, if I stop walking up these stairs, I don’t think I’ll be able to start again. Can we get a move on?”

 

The Doctor obliged, but he wasn’t having any of it. “I mean it, Maley. I really do. You are so much more than you think. You are _worth_ so much more than you think.”

 

“Alright, Doctor! Enough!” Maley nearly shouted. “Enough with the attempted self-esteem boosts. I get it; you think I matter.”

 

“You funny little things, you humans.”

 

“You say that like you’re not.”

 

“I’m not.”

 

“Oh.”

 

They didn’t speak again until they had reached the first level.


End file.
